Reconciliation
The mowed grass smelled fresh and sweet. The mowing left the man spent of all energy, and cooled down his temper. He had a tiff with his wife that morning. Now, on reflection it seemed to him it was over an inconsequential thing and he had lost his temper unnecessarily.
Anyway he was too proud to admit it to her. In time they would make up and things would get back to normal and the incident forgotten. He sat on the garden bench feeling hungry and thirsty and longing for a cup of tea. From the pantry he got the mouth-watering smell of baking.
What was she celebrating? The-(he checked himself before the word formed on his lips and roused his bad temper again). He took off his shirt and tossed it aside. Surprise! He saw her coming towards him with a plate of cup-cakes and a mugful of tea. No word was spoken. She left them on the bench and turned to go. He was overcome with remorse, and caught her hand and pulled her gently over to the bench. Seeing her teary eyes and downcast face his heart smote within him. He spoke. “What happened will not happen again, believe me. You made these cakes for me because I know you love me in spite of my ill-temper.”
She replied in a pained voice. “You promising me, and I forgiving you, doesn’t mean there won’t be lapses anymore, unless you learn to curb your temper. There’s a limit to my patience. You forget we are no longer young,” She sighed deeply.
“What happened to that nice, good and kind young man I married? Will I ever find him again? He drew her closer to him and said contritely, “He is right here beside you.”
Kamala Gunasekera Mirihana